“Hey, blank flank bumpkins!” Diamond Tiara called, savoring the look on the other fillies’ faces as she approached. The way they stiffened with fear as she drew near was icing on the cake.

“Waddya want now, Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom asked, stepping forward as if to shield the other two from further taunts.

Diamond Tiara smirked her well-practiced smirk as their eyes met. Apple Bloom’s eyes shined with something like defiance, and Diamond Tiara let her gaze wander. They didn’t have much of a recess, and getting Apple Bloom riled up took far too long. Another glare caught her attention, this one tinged with anger and a hint of weakness. Perfect. She motioned for Silver Spoon to follow her lead.

“Oh, nothing much,” she finally said, starting to circle around the group. “Just wanted to talk, that’s all... say, Scoota—”

“What?” Scootaloo snapped.

Diamond Tiara’s steps faltered. She hadn’t thought up anything good yet, and had been stalling for time. She cursed inwardly. If she didn’t respond soon, she’d look like a idiot in front of Silver Spoon, and that couldn’t happen, not ever.

“We were really curious...” Silver Spoon chimed in, “you know, about being a pegasus... what’s it like to live in the sky?”

Diamond Tiara felt her smirk slipping into a genuine smile. That was Silver Spoon for you, always willing and able to pick up the slack. It’s why they made such a good team. She looked at her friend and nodded her approval. She wouldn’t let her brilliant idea go to waste.

“Oh, but you wouldn’t know, would you, Scootaloo?” she said as nicely as she could. She had learned long ago that nasty things said nicely always hurt the most.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t, would you?” Silver Spoon said with a giggle. Diamond Tiara joined in. They were a team, and teammates had to always stick together.

Scootaloo’s discomfort was wonderfully obvious. She was shifting her weight from one hoof to another, searching for an out. It was useless, though. There was nowhere she could go to escape them, not like this.

“After all...” Diamond Tiara said, watching Silver Spoon.

“You can’t even fly, right?” Silver Spoon finished. They both laughed again as Scootaloo’s face turned bright red.

Diamond Tiara turned to look at Silver Spoon, purposefully ignoring their target for a moment. Time for a little tag-team taunting.

“A pegasus that can’t fly?” she mockingly asked.

“What good is that? That’s almost as bad as a unicorn who can’t do magic,” Silver Spoon replied, staring at Sweetie Belle.

“Oh, I don’t know, an earth pony who doesn’t even know what their super special talent is even worse, don’t you think, SS?” Diamond Tiara watched Apple Bloom, gauging her reaction.

“Don’t be so harsh, DT.”

Diamond Tiara jolted, surprise and shame rising from the pit of her stomach. Had she gone too far? Why was Silver Spoon leaving her to hang like this? Did Silver Spoon hate her now? Fear gripped her heart. This was what Silver Spoon liked, right?

“Even an unicorn who can’t use magic or an earth pony without a cutie mark can get better, right? A pegasus whose wings can’t even lift her off the ground is just the worst!” Silver Spoon snapped her head towards Scootaloo, who jumped at the sudden attention.

“Oh, you’re absolutely right, SS!” Diamond Tiara breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t fair of Silver Spoon to scare her like that. “A pegasus who can’t even fly is just worthless, worse than icky bugs or a pencil nub!”

“Worse, even! At least somepony might be interested in collecting bugs and pencils!”

Diamond Tiara giggled at this, Silver Spoon following her lead. Through the laughter, Diamond Tiara watched the reactions of her three victims. Sweetie Belle was stunned into her usual, boring silence. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s faces were much more satisfying. Both were at their breaking points, Apple Bloom on the verge of anger and Scootaloo almost in tears. Serves them right! Just looking at them laughing during class had made Diamond Tiara feel nasty, all red-hot on the inside. Now, watching them squirm with Silver Spoon’s support, she felt a little better.

Apple Bloom seemed to be recovering first, opening her mouth for a rebuttal.

“Now wait just a gosh-darn min—”

“Alright everypony! Come back inside, recess is over!” Cheerilee’s sing-song voice echoed over the playground, carrying with it a warm authority.

Diamond Tiara shot Apple Bloom a smug look and laughed, running back into the schoolhouse, Silver Spoon right behind her. It was good to have friends.

---

The pencil rolled up the desk, teetered at the very edge, then rolled back down to her waiting hoof. Diamond Tiara let out an exasperated sigh and let her head droop against the rough wood. Miss Cheerilee’s lessons could be so boring sometimes, even if she did try and make them fun. Diamond Tiara turned her attention back to the pencil, giving it another flick. It wasn’t like she going to learn anything today that her private tutor hadn’t already covered. The pencil rattled up to the brink and flipped off. She groaned. Great, just great. Without something to occupy her mind, she defaulted to looking around the room.

The other foals were all paying attention to the chalkboard, some wearing blanker expressions than others. Her eyes came to rest on Silver Spoon, who was busily taking notes. She stared for a while, hoping stupidly for so much as a glance or smile in her direction, but it all came to nothing. Not that she had expected anything else, really. It was dumb of her to think that Silver Spoon would just magically know she wanted a smile, or a wave. Her gaze drifted again.

Something was off about the classroom, now that she thought about it. She made another round. Yes, something was definitely missing, she just couldn’t put her hoof on it. Diamond Tiara shrugged. She really didn’t care, either way. Class would be over soon, and then she could just go home and relax. She bent down to retrieve the fallen pencil.

“—erilee!”

The cry came so suddenly that Diamond Tiara immediately bolted upright, smacking her head against the underside of the desk.

“Miss Cheerilee! Miss Cheerilee! Help!” Apple Bloom’s voice cried from somewhere far off, the sound of hoofsteps growing louder. Everypony’s heads snapped towards the open door as Miss Cheerilee’s chalk bounced off the ground, the teacher’s mouth wide open. Diamond Tiara felt dense. That’s what was missing! Those annoying Cutie Mark Crusaders weren’t even in the room. No wonder she had been so bored.

“Apple Bloom? Apple Bloom! Everypony stay right where you are until I get back, okay children?” Cheerilee cried, still shouting as she raced out the door.

Diamond Tiara sat up and looked around, wincing and rubbing her head. Without a teacher, the classroom had exploded into excited, panicked chatter, and it wasn’t helping her newfound headache. She caught Silver Spoon’s eyes, confused and questioning. Diamond Tiara shook her head and shrugged in return. Silver Spoon’s eyes flicked towards the door, Cheerilee still barely audible over their classmates’ babbling. Diamond Tiara stared back, hard. Was she serious? Miss Cheerilee had told them to stay where they were, not go running off after her like little fillies. It had nothing to do with them, or so she told herself. Diamond Tiara jerked her chin in the direction of Cheerilee’s voice, trying her best to look noncommittal, but Silver Spoon just shook her head and trotted out the door. Diamond Tiara gave one last shrug and ran after her best friend – no way she was going to sit alone in the classroom.

Cheerilee was easy to trail, her bright coat in stark contrast to the surrounding hillsides’ colors. Diamond Tiara felt her heart sink as the panicked cries grew louder, now tinged with quieter sobs, as their destination came into view. It wasn’t a cliff, not in any sense, but it was still a bit of a drop. Diamond Tiara found herself wishing fervently that her dread was unfounded, and that her hunch was wrong, completely and utterly wrong.

Apple Bloom’s voice, now joined by Cheerilee’s, was coming from the base of the cliff.

She motioned for Silver Spoon to keep quiet and follow her, creeping as slowly as she could manage towards the edge.

“—ied to stop her, we really did,” a voice wailed. It sounded like Sweetie Belle.

“She just... j-just... wouldn’t listen! She said she had to, she said the drop would make it eas—” The new voice cut itself short, breaking out into sobs. Diamond Tiara crept forward, peeking her head just over the brink.

Red, so much red. Red and red and more red. She couldn’t look away, her eyes glued to the splash of color that streaked across Scootaloo’s stomach. Bile rose up her throat, and only a hoof quickly jammed in her mouth kept her from puking down the cliffface. She felt too sick to move.

“Everypony quiet down!” Miss Cheerilee snapped, “Scootaloo’s going to be fine, but I need you two to listen to me right now. Apple Bloom, untie your bow and give it to me, and Sweetie Bell, go get a doctor as fast as you can. It may look bad, but the cut isn’t deep,” Her voice softened. “I need you girls to be strong for Scootaloo, okay?”

Diamond Tiara watched Sweetie Belle gallop off, her vision blurring until she could no longer even see Miss Cheerilee. She touched her cheek, trying to wipe her eyes clear, but the tears had other plans. Diamond Tiara stifled a hiccup. She couldn’t let Silver Spoon see her like this, there’s no way she would ever talk to her ever again. Diamond Tiara bit her lip and forced the tears back. She was good at that. Her eyes dry, she turned to face Silver Spoon, but the other filly was looking away, her mane hiding her expression.

“We should go back before we get in trouble,” she whispered.

“Yeah... we should.”

---

Diamond Tiara rubbed her eyes with her hoof, staring out the window at the midday sun. The class had been given a full day off after the whole incident, so she had taken the opportunity to sleep in. Daddy wouldn’t like it, but Daddy didn’t get a say in what she did today. He’d gone off on another one of his business trips, visiting the Dealin’ trading company, or at least one with some stupid name like that. Diamond Tiara rolled over, burying her face in her pillow.

She’d dreamt about Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and even Apple Bloom, all of them crying. The dream had made her feel uneasy, worse than she had ever felt before. Worse than when she first joined the class, worse than when she saw her daddy crying at night, worse than when she felt all alone. She sniffled. Well, maybe not all alone. Silver Spoon liked her, she was pretty sure, but she made Diamond Tiara feel uncomfortable. Still, Silver Spoon was the only pony in the class that would still talk to her, that she could trust at all.

Diamond Tiara crawled out of bed, pulling her favorite tiara off the nightstand. The way the other foals had acted, they must have heard about Daddy’s business before she even joined the class. They thought that just because she had money, they could lie to her and use her like those fancy ponies had used her father. Well, she had seen right through them and their smiles. Diamond Tiara adjusted her mane, the little crown settling in to a perfect fit. She could at least trust Silver Spoon to be too wealthy to care about things like that.

She trotted into the kitchen and poured herself some oats. They were supposed to be sweet and light, but they just tasted like dirt. She ate them anyways – it felt like the right thing to do. A quick glance at the kitchen clock told her she had an hour before she was supposed to meet Silver Spoon for a shopping trip. She stopped mid-bite, staring at the spoon she was using. It was pretty weird, now that she thought about it. They didn’t spend much time together outside of class, or recess. Why was that?

Another mouthful of oats passed over her tongue, dry and tasteless. She didn’t know much about Silver Spoon at all, besides the fact that she also had a lot of money. Oh, and that she really hated the so-called Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sometimes it really scared her, how nasty Silver Spoon could be. Sure, Diamond Tiara didn’t like the Cutie Mark Crusaders either, but she didn’t hate them half as much as Silver Spoon did. Maybe that was the only thing they really had in common. She stared at the half-empty bowl. Just thinking about Scootaloo and her friends had killed her appetite. The clock rang out, and she pushed the bowl and thoughts away. No sense in keeping Silver Spoon waiting.

---

She was, anyways. The bored expression on Silver Spoon’s face was the worst, like she was blaming Diamond Tiara for making her wait at the town fountain, like it was her fault she had arrived super early. Diamond Tiara tried to hide her annoyance. It wasn’t fair to make somepony else feel guilty like that.

“Ready to go?” she said, leaning against the fountain.

“Sure, where should we go first?”

“I’dunno, Gilded Lilly’s?”

“Ooh yeah, she had a really cute dress the other day that I just have to have!”

Diamond Tiara laughed and fell into step, naturally matching pace with Silver Spoon. It felt good, it felt natural. A shadow of guilt over all the morning’s doubts crossed her mind. Silver Spoon had been a good friend, and it was stupid of her to think otherwise. Thoughts like that were dangerous. What if Silver Spoon thought Diamond Tiara didn’t trust her? Would she leave her too? Diamond Tiara shoved all the questions away. They weren’t important.

The tinkle of a small bell announced their arrival. Lilly’s shop was overflowing with elegance and frills, as always. They tried on dresses and hats, even a new tiara, giggling all the while. They might have been obnoxious, but they didn’t care. Lilly knew they had bits to burn, so she always let them have their way with the shop when they visited. Diamond Tiara smiled as Silver Spoon did another turn in a silly-looking pink dress. They weren’t really going to buy it, of course, but it was fun playing dress-up.

“How does it look?” Silver Spoon mockingly asked.

“Just darling, absolutely darling,” she replied, flicking her hoof in a just-so manner. They broke into another fit of laughter. It was the most fun, actual fun, she had experienced in a long time. Still, it didn’t take much for them to get bored, and they made their purchases and left.

They weren’t even halfway to their next shopping spot when she spotted them leaving the clinic. Diamond Tiara felt her happiness evaporating away into panic as she tried to steer Silver Spoon away from the three fillies, but it was too late. She had seen them as well, and it was inevitable. They were going to have to walk right past the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

She held her breath and wished with all her might that they would just pass by, that no pony would stop and everypony could just go about their day. She really wasn’t in the mood to torture them, no matter how nasty they made her feel. Her wish wasn’t granted.

The tension in the air was painful. This time, both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stepped forward, blocking Scootaloo from sight. It didn’t do much, their bodies barely hiding the swaths of bandage that covered Scootaloo’s side and belly. Diamond Tiara’s stomach did a flip as the image of all the blood, the moaning filly lying in the grass, all of it came rushing back. She didn’t dare look at Silver Spoon. The silence between the two groups lingered on.

She knew what was expected of her. Silver Spoon was waiting for her to start, for her to lead their joint attack. Harsh, cruel words came to mind, but not one could make it past her lips. She could feel tears building up behind her eyes. Silver Spoon would absolutely leave her if she didn’t say something, anything to the other fillies, but she just couldn’t do it. So much red. If she hadn’t said anything at all, it wouldn’t have happened. Diamond Tiara couldn't deny it anymore. It was her fault that Scootaloo had gotten hurt.

Apple Bloom was the first, and last, to speak.

“Even’in.” And then they were gone.

Diamond Tiara breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Silver Spoon had decided to remain silent. Then it hit her. That was it, the end. She had just ruined the only real relationship she had with somepony else. After folding like that, in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders she hated so much, there was no way Silver Spoon would ever forgive her. It was a betrayal of trust, of their common bond. Of their friendship.

The rest of the shopping trip passed in miserable silence. Silver Spoon was unusually quiet, but Diamond Tiara didn’t care anymore. She was too busy stewing in her own thoughts. She was being stupid, had been so very, very stupid. The look in Apple Bloom’s eyes, it hadn’t been hate. She could barely wrap her mind around the concept. After all she had done, all she had said, it just didn’t seem possible. She felt hollow, and old feelings welled up to fill the vacuum.

In the silence, she remembered all of it. How flimsy her connection to Silver Spoon was, how she managed to feel lonely even next to her best friend in the whole wide world. Not best friend. Only friend. Silver Spoon had never really shown interest in her, except when they were bothering the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Diamond Tiara didn’t even like taunting them, not really, but Silver Spoon just egged her on and on, and she went with it. What kind of friend was that? Diamond Tiara ground her teeth. Silver Spoon wasn’t even her friend. Friends make a pony better, nicer, sweeter, and happier. Silver Spoon just made her mean-spirited and unhappy.

The sound of trickling water snapped her back to the present. They had arrived back at the fountain. The day was over, and it was time to go home. She turned to leave, but the silence pushed her back. She turned to face Silver Spoon, maybe the only pony her age who would talk to her in all of Ponyville.

“Silver Spoon...”

The other filly stared at her, a strange expression on her face. All of her bottled-up feelings welled up at once.

“I don’t think we should—”

“I don’t want to be your friend anymore,” Silver Spoon whispered, not meeting her gaze.

Diamond Tiara’s brain stopped in its tracks.

“I... I’ve been quiet for a long time... but I don’t like the way you bully the CMC... I never did,” Silver Spoon continued.

Diamond Tiara blinked twice, put her hoof over her eyes and laughed bitterly as the red-hot tears splattered on the cobble.